It’s hard to imagine what life would be like without online shopping, and now it’s even harder to imagine what online shopping would be like without sample sale sites. As any collegiette™ knows, getting a fabulous deal is equivalent to a combination of an endorphin rush mixed with a surge of adrenaline. It’s like finding THAT pair of Sam Edelman’s you’ve been wanting all season for 75% off at Nordstrom Rack, but with an online sample sale, you luckily don’t have to paw through aisles of chaos.
So here’s how sample sale sites work: sample sale sites are usually invite-only, but for most sites you can request an invitation. Usually you’ll receive them within a couple of days, but if you know a friend who’s a member have her send you an invitation if she can to speed up the process. These sites only sell certain products from high-end labels and at a heavily discounted price. So if you’ve got your eye on a new pair of J Brand jeans, you can get them up to 70% off sometimes. The catch? Most sales are timed, meaning you only have 24 to 48 hours to snag what you want, unless they sell out since most sites only carry a limited amount of inventory. But the best part is that most sites have new sales from different labels every day.
There are a ton of sample sale sites, but here our four sites that every collegiette™ should bookmark!
Gilt Groupe
What You’ll Find: Designer and luxury sample sales for women, men, home and even city deals to spas, restaurants and local boutiques.
What We Love: There’s an app for that! “Gilt on the Go” helps us shop quickly and never miss a deal.
Fab.com
What You’ll Find: From furniture to books, gadgets to jewelry, Fab.com rounds up some of the best products with an emphasis on great design.
What We Love: Smartly designed and unique gifts for everybody … including yourself!
Kembrel.com
What You’ll Find: Geared toward college students with college budgets and college style, you’ll see brands like BB Dakota and Chloe.
What We Love: Affordable prices and styles that we love!
Collegebudget.com
What You’ll Find: Some of the best student discounts for the boring necessities like printer ink, language lessons and textbook rentals.
What We Love: Like Facebook once was, you need to have an .edu address to sign up so not everyone on the world wide web can snatch these deals.